


Walls

by Iwvs



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Gratuitous Smut, fast burn, not romantic in the least
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 15:45:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20410273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iwvs/pseuds/Iwvs
Summary: Yami and Charlotte are sent on a mission together.





	1. Chapter 1

Ki was made of a thousand tiny things. The way someone's voice inflected as they spoke, the way they held themselves, the air around them. Any one of these things might be meaningless, but taken as a whole, it was ki. It wasn't omniscience by any stretch of the imagination- it had never helped Yami win at cards, but it told him plenty of things. 

For example, it told him that Nozel had arrived early to the captain conference, but hadn't wanted to join the meeting before his rival, Fuegoleon, and so had hidden in a bathroom for fifteen minutes until the crimson lion captain had arrived. It told him that Jack was bored already and carving something into the underside of the table.

And it told him that Charlotte Roselei was incredibly hot for him.

Honestly, Yami would have preferred if ki helped him win at cards. The woman was a coworker, and a really competent magic knight. She had a nice ass and she saved people. She just couldn't even look at him without insulting him somehow, and Yami knowing she was attracted to him didn't change that.

If anything, it made it worse.

"This is a dangerous mission," Julius was saying. "I'm not ordering any of you to go, but I am asking for volunteers."

"I'll go," said Yami, raising his hand. He hadn't really been listening to what Julius had been saying, but if the Wizard King had bothered to summon all of them, it was probably important. The eyes of the other captains were on him. "It'll take more than a few diamond kingdom mages to get rid of me."

Julius paused a beat, and then nodded. "Very well. But I believe this is a two man operation."

"I will go," said Charlotte.

Jack startled beside Yami, and his thin lips turned downward as he scowled at the blue rose captain. "Wait a minute-" 

Yami grinned. "You snooze you lose, String Bean."

"This isn't fair!"

Julius' eyes sparkled. "The lady did volunteer first," he said. "And much as I would like to send all of you on this mission, I need the rest of you to help defend the border towns."

"Tch." Captain Jack the Ripper rolled his eyes. "You'd better not die. Or I'll gut you both."

"I'd like to see you try," Yami muttered as he looked up at the ceiling. So he was on a mission with the Thorn Queen. Hell, what was the worst that could happen?

\---

She was on a mission with the God of Destruction. The crudest, most insolent man in the clover kingdom. He was huge and scary looking, looked about forty, and had made them stop twice so far so that he could take a shit. And yet, somehow- Charlotte gripped her broom, facing away from him and into the wind- somehow, she had fallen for him.

"Oi, Thorn Queen," Yami called from behind her, squatting casually on his broom.

"What do you want?" Charlotte snapped.

"We should find somewhere to set down for the night. We're running out of forest. If we camp too close to a settlement, we'll have diamond mages on us by morning."

Charlotte hated to admit it, but Yami was right. She could see the trees below thinning out, with signs of trails through them. 

They set down on a hillside near the edge of the forest, picking a rocky outcrop to shield their camp from view. It took a while to set up without magic, but they couldn't risk the enemy sensing their mana, not this far into diamond territory, with no spatial mage to bail them out if things went south.

Charlotte closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. They were together, alone. Why had she volunteered for this? All she could think about was _him_. What his hands might feel like on her skin. What his breath might feel like, on her neck. It gave her goosebumps, made her stomach tie itself in knots. 

Yami squatted down, holding his lighter to the kindling he had gathered until the campfire began to take. 

"We should leave at dawn," Charlotte said.

"So you're talking to me now, Thorn Queen?" Yami looked up from the fire. "I thought I'd offended you or something."

"I'm not offended, you brute." Charlotte felt colour rising to her cheeks.

"We just flew four hours in total silence," said Yami, not inaccurately.

"I'm simply focused on the mission."

Yami shook his head, lighting himself a cigarette. "It's only the two of us here. You don't have to keep acting so prim and proper. I mean, if you don't want to. If you're just naturally like that, that's fine too, I guess." He sat back, smoke rising from his lips. "You do you."

_You do you. _ "That's easy for you to say." Charlotte shot back. 

"Probably, yeah," said Yami. "I mean, I'm a foreigner. Got no family. No-one expects manners from me."

"You idiot, I-" she looked away, her face reddening. "I didn't mean it like that."

The black bull captain breathed smoke out of his nose, looking up at her through narrowed eyes, then patted the ground beside him. "Thorn Queens need to eat too, right? Then sit down, and eat with me."

Charlotte stared down at Yami, composing herself. She kept insulting him, and he kept brushing it off, as if it were nothing. "I suppose it would be impolite to refuse such an invitation."

They ate together, Charlotte eating the sandwiches she had brought, Yami pulling meat from a bag. She had never seen the man touch a vegetable. Throwing the bones of his meal on the fire, Yami drew a flask from his bag, and took a swig.

"Want some?" Yami proffered his flask towards her, the contents sloshing from side to side, and Charlotte caught a whiff of alcohol. 

"We're on a mission," said Charlotte, flatly.

"Suit yourself," grunted Yami, taking another swig from the flask, and Charlotte's eyes widened. If she drank from it, her lips would have touched the same thing as his. And indirect kiss.

"I can't let you drink it all," said Charlotte. "You'll be insensible. Give it here."

Smiling, Yami handed over the flask, and Charlotte took a swig as she had seen him do. The liquid burned on the way down, making her cough. Whatever this stuff was, it was strong. Charlotte felt her head swim, and sat back.

"Hey now," Yami plucked the flask from her hand. "Don't spill it."

"What is that, anyway?"

Yami gave her an incredulous look as he sucked at his flask. "It's whiskey. How do you not know what whiskey is?"

"Maybe I'm focused on my duties as a magic knight captain. Unlike some people."

Yami seemed unruffled by the jab. "You've got to have some experience of the world."

"Says who?"

"Well, how do you know what you like, if you haven't experienced anything?" 

The words came out of Charlotte's mouth before she had really thought about them. "I know I like you."

He froze. "Wha-"

And in that instant, Charlotte lunged forward and kissed him. It wasn't how she had imagined her first kiss, but his lips softened under hers, and she felt a heat rising within her, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. Yami put a strong arm around her, his rough fingers threading through her hair, and she moaned. His lips parted and Charlotte tasted his tongue before he gently broke the kiss, pulling her back from him. He tasted like salt and smoke.

Yami looked at her, his eyes narrowing as he held her up by her head. "You're drunk. How are you this drunk already?"

"I'm not drunk!" Charlotte fought back a hiccup. "I just want to- I just want to do-"

Two copies of Yami swam in the air before her, shaking their heads. "You are definitely drunk."

\---

Damn. Prickly Thorn Queen really couldn't handle her drink. Yami looked down at Charlotte, who was snoring cutely, her face pressed against his thigh and her braid askew. 

She'd kissed him, though. She'd kissed him, and it felt like she had meant it.

He would have loved to follow through, but then he'd have to explain himself to sober Charlotte, which would be hard enough as it was without her waking up with a splitting headache and with no memory of what had happened.

Yami tucked her braid behind her ear and let her sleep.

\---

Her face was pressed against something hard. Had Yami wrapped a cape around a stone? Charlotte reached out and patted her pillow. Yami's leg muscles. Yami's leg muscles were rock hard.

Her face was pressed against his thigh. And she had drooled on him. A familiar heat rose to Charlotte's cheeks, and she sat up, carefully. 

It was before dawn, and their campfire had dwindled, leaving only crimson embers.

"Good morning, Prickly Queen," said Yami, his voice rough. He must have been awake the whole time, keeping watch, Charlotte realized with a start.

"About last night-" Charlotte began, and stopped, as Yami put a hand on her shoulder. She froze. She should have slapped him, she supposed, but after jumping him last night, she had no right.

"Don't worry about it," said Yami, quietly. "I won't tell anyone. Your reputation is important to you."

"My knights-" Charlotte began, but the words seemed to dry up in her mouth. Her knights would be horrified that she was alone with a man, that she wanted a man, any man, let alone Yami Sukehiro. Let alone that she had kissed him. Part of her was beyond caring what her knights would think. She put her hand over Yami's. He had kissed her back, hadn't he? It had only been for a moment, but he had kissed her back. "I was drunk last night," she said. "But everything I said was true."

Yami leaned in, his nose only inches from hers. "Everything?" he said.

Mutely, Charlotte nodded. Yami leaned in and kissed her lips, hooking one arm around her waist and drawing her in, her legs astride his. Charlotte closed her eyes, drinking in the sensation of it- the warmth of his lips, the coarseness of his stubble, the solidity of his broad chest, and the feeling of arousal that pulsed between her own legs. 

It was more considered than her lunge last night had been, gentler than she had expected from the God of Destruction. She parted her lips, and he seemed to take that as an invitation, his tongue meeting hers. Cautiously, Charlotte put her arms around his shoulders, her fingers in his hair as she had felt him do to hers last night, and Yami grunted into the kiss, his hands going to her hips. She found herself grinding against him as they kissed, his hands guiding her hips upwards and away from his own. He broke the kiss, as he had last night, but this time he held her to him as he did, his abs rock hard, and he nested his face in her neck, his stubble scratchy.

"You're pretty pent up, aren't you," he murmured into her ear. "You want me to help you with that?" Her body seemed to respond to his question of its own accord, butterflies in her stomach.

"Please," Charlotte breathed, and Yami kissed her neck in reply. One hand on her back, he loosened the fastening on her jodhpurs, and Charlotte gave a gasp as he deftly slipped his free hand into her underthings.

"Fuck, you're wet," Yami growled, and his fingertips traced white hot lines of sensation over her outer lips, lingering around her hole. "Oh, man."

Charlotte found herself giving a soft whimper. "Is that bad?"

"No, it's good." Yami kissed her neck, and then her ear as he pushed a finger between her outer lips, drawing a slick line between her hole and her clit. Charlotte gave a little gasp, bucking her hips against his hand. Yami gave an encouraging grunt as he stroked her clit, and she found she could barely think through the sensation, a ball of pleasure that built as he touched her. She was whimpering into his shoulder, into his neck, her breathing shallow, until the pressure of it was almost unbearable. It was shameful and undignified and she didn't care.

"There-" he growled, and pulled her into a fierce kiss as the sensation overwhelmed her, and she moaned into his mouth as she twitched and shuddered for him. 

He broke the kiss to let her breathe, and put a hand on her head as she nestled against him, her breathing slowing. Her pussy was still twitching a little as Yami had withdrew his hand and sucked the slime unceremoniously off his fingers. 

"You did good," he murmured into her hair. "Prickly Thorn Queen."

Charlotte did up the fastening on her jodhpurs, and tilted her head to look up at him. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but pressed against his chest was a warm and comforting place to be. "Do you have to call me that?"

Yami was smiling, not the shit-eating smirk he usually wore, but a genuine smile. "Hydroponic Thorn Queen?" he offered.

Charlotte took a deep breath. "I will kill you if you ever call me that again."

"I look forward to it," said Yami, smirking. "Charlotte."


	2. Chapter 2

Damn. How had he not seen it? Yami stubbed out his cigarette on the ground by his side.

_ Is that bad _? she'd asked, genuinely worried. She was, what? Twenty four? Most women had a kid by twenty four. How could she still be so innocent? Yami supposed the prickliness didn't help, but it was still hard to believe. 

He'd kept his cock out of things for now, tucked painfully into his waistband. If she was as inexperienced as he thought, she'd probably have freaked at the sight of it. Easier to just show her a good time, let her go into the coming fight with a clear head. He could ask her later if she wanted to do more with him- maybe they could get a room at an inn on the way back.

"Yami," she called over her shoulder, summoning him back to reality. She was wearing her helmet again, and it gleamed dully in the early light. Her cheeks were slowly losing their flushed appearance, and her eyes were cold blue steel. "We're going," she said.

"Sure." Yami grabbed his backpack and his broom from the ground, and they took off into the grey sky.

Their target was within the Diamond kingdom. Some kind of magic research facility. That wouldn't have been a problem, normally, but Julius had found they were kidnapping children from the Clover kingdom border towns.

Yami felt the high mana region before he saw it, like a pressure in the air.

"What element?" Charlotte asked, picking up the change in mana density a moment after Yami himself.

"Lightning," said Yami, and as if on cue, a bolt of electric blue seared past him, striking the rocks below. Reflexively, he hurled himself sideways, channelling his mana to his skin as he hit the ground. The air smelled like ozone, and the sky was darkening ahead of them.

Charlotte was also reinforcing herself, her body limned in blue-green mana, her lips set in a thin line as she landed beside him. "My attribute has the advantage, then," she said.

Yami nodded. Dark magic was powerful, but keeping up with the speed of the lightning strikes would be difficult. Charlotte's roses, however, would provide an effective shield against it, directing the lightning through their stems. 

Charlotte gave a gesture, and her briars burst from the ground, winding around her like a bower. "Stay close," she warned, and Yami stepped under it just as the second lightning bolt hit. Charlotte grimaced as the thorns directed the power, smoke rising around them.

"We'll need to move fast," Yami warned. Charlotte would never admit it, but her briars probably couldn't take more than a few of those hits.

They ran together, in step, Charlotte's roses as their shield.

The enemy base loomed before them in the thunderhead, just as Julius had said. It was a keep, with crenellated walls and turrets, robed guards standing watch.

Charlotte's bower broke on the final stretch, and Yami deflected a lightning bolt with his sword.

"They've seen us," he grunted, nodding to the figures on the walls, their grimoires glowing as they charged their spells.

"I'll take care of them. You get the wall," said Charlotte, launching herself up on a mass of briars. She swept through the guards, her roses taking the brunt of their offensive spells, and Yami ran for the wall, channeling his magic into his katana.

"Dark-cloaked slash!" he yelled, launching the attack. It was powerful enough to blast through ten feet of granite. They didn't call him the God of Destruction for no reason. Yami smirked. But the wall remained intact.

Something had blocked it. No. _ Someone _.

A small figure stood in a niche in the wall of the fort. About Charmy's height, with a mass of black hair. A gold coloured grimoire hovered in the air a few feet in front of them, a clover adorning the cover.

Yami hopped back, assuming a defensive posture. Not sensing the mana of an enemy caster was understandable, with the high background energy in this region. His ki was weird, too, in a way that he couldn't place.

"Charlotte!" Yami called. "You see this guy?"

Charlotte glanced down from her briar platform. "He's young. Might be one of the ones we came to rescue."

Not illusion, then. So what was up with this kid's ki? Yami edged forward, his stance low. He could feel Charlotte fighting the mages above him, and the interlocking stones of the wall, but where the kid should be just felt like another stone, and there was no strong concentration of mana around him. 

The kid looked down at Yami sharply. His eyes were brown, and a small grey gem glinted on his forehead. "You should go," he said, his voice that of a child, but without emotion. "Or you're going to die here."

"You should come down from there," Yami called. "This is dangerous stuff. I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't think you understand," said the kid, no light in his eyes. "It's not me who's in danger." He gestured to one side, and there was a deep grinding noise as the blocks in the wall moved.

Like Henry's magic, but much stronger, the wall rearranged itself, and Yami realized too late why he hadn't picked up the kid's magic. It wasn't centered around his body, but covered the whole of the stronghold.

"Shit!" Yami lashed out with his sword as a buttress swung down towards him like a fist. His magic was enough to deflect it, and it smashed into the ground at his side, sending shards of rock flying. The kid was strong. He rolled out of the way of a second buttress, and the lightning bolt that followed, attracted by the strength of the mana.

"You're seriously getting beaten by a kid?" Charlotte descended on her briars, her chin held high. "Maybe I should show you what a real magic knight captain can do."

Yami snorted. "Be my guest."

\---

The buttress came crashing down again, and Charlotte spread her arms, raising a pillar of briars to catch it. The thorns enmeshed the stone, trapping it, and Charlotte staggered under the effort of it, gritting her teeth. Yami hadn't been slacking off after all- the child was legitimately strong. Maybe the crystal in his forehead was some kind of magic item.

Charlotte held the buttress down, but the fort was already beginning to reconfigure. There was an opening for Yami, but he seemed reluctant to go for it, probably because he didn't want to hurt a kid. 

"I've got an idea," Charlotte called over to Yami. "Keep him distracted for me."

Yami looked back at her and gave a nod, before he ran at the wall again, slashing wildly with his dark magic. Lightning bolts streaked past as the kid blocked with his magic, forced into the back foot by Yami's destructive power.

Charlotte watched the fight, focusing inward on her mana. Her magic had felt off since her encounter with Yami. Not in a bad way, but the mana seemed to flow more easily, and her briars felt as if they might spill. Drawing mana from the environment, she seeded roses all around the base of the keep, the sort that she used for binding magic, and let them grow free. Charlotte's grimoire rippled as it grew a new page, and she muttered the name of the spell as she committed it to memory. 

"Briar magic," she intoned. "Wild Briar Binding!"

Their roots drank the fortress Mage's power from the stones as they overgrew the fort and bloomed. Yami gave a yell, smashing through a final layer of stone, and the kid slumped forwards, his middle wrapped in Yami's binding magic. Charlotte carried him down to the ground on her thorns. 

"I don't sense any other mages," said Yami, quietly. 

Reaching out, Charlotte felt it too. The mana was thick, but it didn't cluster around anyone save the three of them and the unconscious enemies on the parapets. "They must have moved the children." She bent down, touching the kid's cheek. He was unharmed, save for the gem lodged in his forehead. What had the diamond kingdom done to him?

"If they have, we'll never find them in this." Yami didn't flinch as a bolt of lightning struck the ground a foot to his left. "Let's go back and report to Julius."

Reluctantly, Charlotte nodded. Venturing further into diamond territory would only risk the life of the one person they'd managed to save. "The wizard king should know about this."

As they flew away, Charlotte glanced back at the fort, and the roses that covered it. A single red bloomed amongst the blue.


	3. Chapter 3

Yami leaned out the window of the magic knight headquarters, looking out over the capital as he smoked. Julius had seemed concerned at their report, and had asked for the kid to be questioned, but there had been no intelligence on the children who were still missing, and they still didn't know what the strange magic item did. They'd saved one kid, sure, but their failure left him frustrated.

He looked up as he caught sight of Charlotte leaving Julius's office.

"Oi, Thorn Queen," he called.

Charlotte froze in her tracks, the light from the sunset glinting on her helm. "What?"

"I want to ask something," said Yami. "About what happened."

Charlotte looked like she wanted to slap him. "No-one can find out," she said.

"I wasn't planning on telling anyone, jeez." Yami took a drag on his cigarette. "I was just wondering if you wanted to do it again sometime."

"Are you insane?" Charlotte snapped, colour rising in her cheeks.

"Maybe." Yami shrugged. "Thought I'd give it a shot."

"Then maybe you should come visit me tonight," retorted Charlotte as she stormed off, cape swirling and high colour in her cheeks.

It took Yami a moment to realise that she had said yes.

\---

  
  


It had been ages since Yami had had to climb a wall to get into a girl's room. It reminded him of his teenage years, when parents had universally disapproved of him- a sketchy looking foreign boy who used dark magic.

Now though, it wasn't wrathful parents he was avoiding, but the entirety of the blue rose magic knights. Yami gripped the flowers that he'd brought between his teeth, and leapt two storeys from the rosebeds, grabbing a window ledge with his fingers. It would have been easier to just punch some handholds into the wall, but Charlotte probably wouldn't be happy if he did that. The ki of the ledge told him it was about to crack under his weight, and Yami swore, shuffling along before he swung himself up another storey. Charlotte's suite was at the top, because of course it was. Her lieutenant was curled outside the door like a guard dog, which left the window. He landed lightly on the sill outside, and looked in.

Charlotte was lying on the bed, her hair down and her hands clasped over her stomach. Her eyes were closed, but Yami could tell from her ki that she wasn't sleeping. She wore a modest, floor-length white nightgown, made of a thin fabric that bunched at her waist and clung to her curves. Her grimoire was on her bedside table.

Yami took the flowers out of his mouth, and pulled the window open. It squeaked, and Charlotte turned her head towards him as he stepped inside. 

"I thought you might burst through the wall," she said.

Yami shrugged. "I can if you want. Window seemed more convenient, though."

Charlotte sat up as he approached, long legs curling under her. "You brought me flowers?" 

"I'd have brought some booze, but you're a lightweight," said Yami, thrusting the bouquet towards her.

"They're roses," said Charlotte, her eyes wide as she took the flowers from his hands. She seemed almost offended.

Yami scratched his chin. "They're pink ones. You can't do pink, right?"

"No…" Charlotte gave a small huff, looking away from him. She was blushing, a deeper pink than the roses. "And they don't smell bad. You can put them in the vase there," she said, with a gesture to a side table, and Yami obeyed.

She followed him from the bed, her feet bare on the floor. "Yami," she said, softly.

"Yeah?"

He felt her soft breasts press into his back as she hugged him from behind, her face pressed against his shoulderblade, her arms wrapped around his waist. She was shaking- a knot of fear and shame and desire.

Yami took her wrists in his hands and turned to face her. "Charlotte," he said, releasing her hands as he looked down at her. "Don't do anything you don't want."

"But-" Her blue eyes were sad. "I want you."

"Then show me," said Yami.

She kissed him fiercely, grabbing the back of his head, almost knocking his teeth with hers. Yami pulled her to him, his hands running down her back and squeezing her ass. He was hard already, cock straining at his pants.

Charlotte broke the kiss to take a breath, her fingers sliding under the straps of Yami's tank top, and Yami steered them towards the bed, pushing Charlotte onto it. He sat at the edge of the bed, and unlaced his boots.

Charlotte made an impatient noise, sprawled on the covers where he had pushed her. 

Yami glanced up. "If you're in that much of a hurry, you could help me undress," he teased. "Rather than just laying there."

She sat up on her knees and came over to him, her breasts brushing his arm through her nightgown as she inspected his belts and began to undo the buckles. She'd managed the third one by the time he'd got his boots off, and Yami grunted as his cock tented forward in his trousers, free of the restraint the belts had provided. 

"That's-" Charlotte was trying very hard not to look at his crotch, her face crimson. Damn homeschooled girls. Yami shed his chaps and peeled off his vest, placing his grimoire beside Charlotte's on the table, and climbed onto the bed with her.

"Don't worry about it." Yami cupped her chin. She wouldn't want to hear it, but damn she was cute when she was embarrassed.

"No, I want to please you." She swallowed, looking away, and her voice got small. "Like you pleased me."

She had no idea how sexy that small phrase was. Yami's cock throbbed for the thought of her hands on him. He leaned forward, taking her in his arms and kissing her gently. She tasted sweet, and her breasts were warm through the fabric of her nightgown as they squished against his bare chest. "If that's what you want, I'm yours," he murmured. "But I'm going to please you too. Properly this time."

Charlotte pressed her face into the side of his neck, and her hands went to his cock, stroking him through the fabric of his trousers. One arm still around Charlotte's waist, Yami felt for the clasp on his pants and freed the little guy. Charlotte's hands returned tentatively, and she made a noise of surprise as she touched him.

"Yami, that's huge."

Yami squinted down. His erection didn't look any different to how it normally did. "It's normal sized."

"It's monstrous." Was that a note of admiration in her voice? Charlotte's eyes were wide, but she hadn't stopped touching his cock yet, sliding her fingertips up and down.

"It's proportional," Yami insisted. He moved his hand over hers, guiding her to grip his shaft. "I'm just a big guy, that's all." Charlotte's grip was firm, and Yami stifled a groan as she began to toss him off, precum beading on the tip. From the pressure building inside him he could tell that he would cum from a few minutes of this, but he didn't want to. Not yet. He kissed Charlotte, and her hand slowed a little as he cupped one of her breasts through her nightgown, stroking the nipple with his thumb. Her mouth softened against his as she kissed him back. It wasn't much of a respite, but enough to let Yami think. She was a magnificent woman, who could do much better than him. Laying there and just letting her jerk him off was a shame. He needed to show her a good time, make her scream into her blue-rose patterned pillows. 

To his surprise, Charlotte broke the kiss, and shifted down the bed, her face level with his navel. Her golden hair pooled on the sheets, and her breath was warm on his cock, which twitched in her hand, an inch or two from her face. She hesitated, looking at him with her wide blue eyes, and against his better judgement, Yami nodded. 

"Fuck," he groaned, as she took him in her mouth. Her warm, wet mouth, with her soft lips, her hand still closed round the base of his shaft. It narrowed his senses to a single, blade-thin point. He clutched the sheets beneath him as she moved, willing his hips to be still, and not just fuck her mouth until he was spent. His cock twitched like a traitor, and Yami willed himself back from the brink, grunting curse words as she moved. Not yet, damn it. He reached down, threading his fingers through Charlotte's hair, and nudged her head upwards, and off of him. She took the hint and released his cock, a line of drool still hanging from her bottom lip.

"Did I hurt you?"

Yami shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. His cock still throbbed with the memory of her mouth, screaming at him to just let her take him over the edge. He took Charlotte by the shoulders and rolled her onto her back, pinning her down.

\---

"It's my turn now," he growled, his eyes glowing red.

A proper lady would protest, Charlotte thought, as Yami pushed her nightgown up around her hips , then ripped it clean in half, exposing her breasts. A proper lady would scream and struggle, she thought, as he pushed her knees apart. But a proper lady would never have kissed a man like Yami Sukehiro, would never have stroked his erection, would never have felt herself grow wet as she sucked him off. A proper lady would never have invited him in the first place, she thought, as he kissed her inner thighs in turn, and she felt a rush of shame and arousal as he bent his head to her pussy, pushing the lips apart with his fingers.

She'd braced herself for his touch, but she hadn't been prepared for his mouth, and she found herself whimpering as his tongue traced a slow circle around her clit. Yami gave a grunt of approval and repeated the motion, the circle tighter, his tongue glancing her clit. Charlotte moaned and bucked her hips, and Yami grabbed her left thigh and held it in place on his shoulder as he worked her with his mouth, his other hand toying with the entrance to her hole, tracing circles parallel to his tongue.

"Please-" Charlotte whimpered, bucking against his face, and he slipped an index finger inside her, his tongue on her clit again, stroking it. He copied the movement with his finger, a come hither type motion, and Charlotte cried out. "Please-" she repeated, though she wasn't quite sure what she was begging for. She grabbed Yami by the back of the head, pulling him to her as she bucked her hips again, and he gave a pleased grunt, slipping a second finger into her pussy. The motion of his tongue alone was exquisite, a steady lap of white hot pleasure, no matter how she whimpered and thrust her hips, and his fingers slid back and forth inside her, exerting a pressure that made her try to fuck his face more. But Yami's grip on her leg was like iron, and he held her in place as he worked her. Her breathing quickened, and her legs trembled until her pussy twitched around his fingers. She made a noise in her throat, and he raised his head, his hair badly tousled.

His smile was infuriating. "How's that, Thorn Queen?"

Charlotte slumped back, her head swimming. "Guh-" she started, before realising she had lost the power of speech. She swallowed. Yami crawled over her, his knees between her legs, and kissed her. He tasted of her, salty and organic. Without breaking the kiss, he slid his hands down her sides and lifted her hips, pushing himself into her in one smooth motion. 

Wasn't the first time meant to hurt? Instead, her body had accepted him without question, echoes of her climax making her twitch around his cock. His being inside her felt like her pussy was crammed full, but it didn't hurt. 

Yami held her hips to him, kissing a line down her neck. 

"You have no idea how good you feel right now," he muttered as he bent his head to her breasts and took one of her nipples between his lips. Charlotte made a soft noise as he sucked it, and saw him smile in response.

Slowly, glacially slowly, Yami moved his hips, moving himself out of her still sensitive hole, and then back in again, the sensation threatening to overwhelm her. Charlotte closed her eyes, running her hands over Yami's muscled back as he worked. Kissing her neck, he pulled them both upright, and slipped a hand between them, as he had in their first encounter, save that now his cock was hilt deep in her, and her clit was already sensitive from climax. His touch was almost painful, and Charlotte cried out at it. Yami pulled his hand back a little, so that his fingers barely touched her, inviting her to move into his touch instead.

Almost despite herself, Charlotte rocked her hips, sliding her clit against Yami's coaxing fingers as she slid herself up and down his cock, whimpering. Yami was cursing under his breath, sweat on his brow, his eyes half closed as she sped up the rhythm, close to completion. Charlotte pressed her face against Yami's perspiring chest as she came for the second time that night, biting at his collar. Yami grabbed her hips and yanked her onto him fiercely, fucking her through the rest of her climax. Charlotte clung to him, gasping, as he gave a guttural moan, his cock pulsing warmth inside her.

"Fuck." Yami buried his face in Charlotte's hair and fell to his side, pulling her with him. When he looked up, he was smiling. "Enjoy yourself, Prickly Queen?"

Charlotte swallowed. A proper lady wouldn't feel the way she did right now. A proper lady would be ashamed, to have lost her virginity to such a brute. To have given in to carnal desire. There was a ball of warmth in her stomach, and it shouldn't have been there.

"I-" she started, and heard her voice crack.

Yami's eyes widened, and he grabbed her to him, scooping her up in his arms, and stroking her hair.

"It's okay," he said, softly, wiping something from her face with the back of his hand. Tears? 

A proper lady wouldn't cry. A dam seemed to break inside her, and Charlotte gave an ugly sob, breaking down into Yami's chest, guilt washing over her.

Yami held her, kissing the top of her head, and folding the remnants of her nightgown around her. She didn't want him to see her like this, but he didn't seem to care. He just held her, and said her name as she cried.

"Yami," she said, finally, her voice hoarse. Her eyes stung- they were probably puffy and bloodshot.

"Yeah?" he shifted underneath her, and she marvelled at the warmth of him. It was like lying on a beach in the midday sun.

"Why did you stay?"

Yami shrugged. "You were upset," he said. "I mean, I can leave if you want me to."

"No," said Charlotte, too quickly. "I mean, I want you to stay."

"Til the morning I guess," mused Yami, rubbing her shoulder. "Since you don't want your knights finding out about us."

"Yeah," Charlotte agreed, a bubble of doubt rising in her stomach. "Til the morning."


	4. Chapter 4

As Yami had gotten older, and his reinforcement magic had gotten stronger, it had gotten harder and harder for him to actually get drunk. As a teenager, it had simply been a matter of a couple of bottles of hooch, but at the ripe old age of twenty six, being drunk was a concerted effort, which generally wasn't worth it. Tonight, though, his memory of last night's encounter with Charlotte weighed heavily on him. He'd left the blue rose base before dawn as promised, leaving her sleeping, and hating himself for having upset her.

"Sir?" The elderly bartender who had been serving him all night roused Yami from his thoughts. "You've had a few too many tonight, I think. I'm going to have to cut you off."

Yami looked blearily up at the bartender, narrowing his eyes. His ki said the bartender was Julius in disguise. He was pretty sure that Julius knew that he knew that. "Give it a rest, Julius," he said.

The bartender's face flashed with annoyance. "I don't know what you're talking about. You must be pretty far gone to mistake me for the wizard king, buddy."

"It's 2am, Julius. We're the only people in the bar."

"Fine." Julius-the-bartender pulled the teatowel from his shoulder, his hair turning from grey to Julius's familiar blond. "But don't tell anyone. Marx thinks I'm on a mission." He pushed a cocktail in a martini glass over to Yami. Yami hadn't seen him make it, but the man was a time mage. "What're you doing in the capital, anyway? It's not like you to drink your money away before payday."

"Maybe I knew you'd waive my tab," said Yami. He took a sip of the drink. It was delicious. And lemony.

"No," Julius pursed his lips critically. "You wouldn't come here just on the off-chance that I would pay. Something's bothering you."

"Fine," Yami gave a sigh. Julius's instincts were on-point, as ever. That was part of what made him such a good wizard king. "I got girl problems."

"For real?" Julius's eyes sparkled. Most guys didn't talk about this kind of thing, but Julius was an exception.

"Well I guess it's more like woman problems, but yeah."

"Who is she?"

"No-one." Yami shook his head. "She doesn't want to be seen with me, anyway."

Julius looked sad. That in itself was nothing new- pretty much none of Yami's girlfriends had ever wanted to be seen in public with him.

"She must be someone pretty special if you're not official and you're this wound up over her."

"I'm not wound up," said Yami.

"No?" The wizard king tilted his head. "Then why are you trying to get drunk?"

Yami looked at his friend numbly, remembering Charlotte sobbing into his chest. How inconsolable she had been. How small, and how sad.

"I brought her flowers, Julius! Damnit!" Yami struck the bar with his hand, hard enough to rattle the glasses on the drying rack. "I showed her a good time, I tried my best, I really did, and I still made her cry."

"You like this girl," observed Julius, an eyebrow quirked.

"Well, yeah." Yami growled. "I wouldn't do stuff with a girl I didn't like."

"No, I mean you _like_ her like her," said Julius. "You care about her."

"Yeah, I mean maybe." Yami rubbed his forehead. "She's strong, and she's a good person. I just don't want to hurt her, that's all." He looked down at the drink Julius had made for him. "Maybe I should just never talk to her again."

"What? No!" Julius reached over the bar and pinched Yami's cheeks, something he'd been doing since Yami was a teen. "She'll think she's done something wrong and then blame herself- leading to a spiral of depression! It might lead her down a dark path where she blames the Clover kingdom for her broken heart and turns against us."

"Ow," said Yami, pushing Julius's hands away. "And I think that's unlikely."

Julius sighed. "I'm telling you this as a friend- you're being an idiot."

"Then what do I do? Risk making her cry again? Man, I don't want that."

"Talk. To. The girl." said Julius. He made it sound simple. He put his hand on Yami's shoulder. "She must like you back, right?" 

Yami shifted in his seat. "I guess so," he allowed.

"Then talk to her. And then maybe you'll get married and have cute little babies with cool variations of your dark magic." Julius pressed his hands together, eyes sparkling.

"Stop it. You're getting ahead of yourself." Yami narrowed his eyes. "No-one's having any babies."

"But I wanna be a grandaddy," Julius whined. "You can bring them to see me, and they can call me grandpa Julius. Grandpaju for short. So cute!"

"That's a stupid name. And you're not even my father!" Yami grumbled, but Julius's smile was infectious. He tried to imagine what his children would look like. Toddler bodies, topped with his scowling face. Yami shuddered at the thought of it.

"Alright," he shook his head, trying to banish the image. "I'll talk to her."

Julius smiled. "Let me know how it goes, okay?"

"Sure," Yami grunted, hoisting himself from his barstool. "Thanks, Julius."


	5. Chapter 5

Charlotte woke up alone in her bed. The only signs that Yami had been there were the dent in her mattress, and the pink roses in the vase by her dresser. _Why?_ Charlotte got to her feet, holding her nightgown closed over her chest as she picked up the vase. She had plenty of roses already. Roses in her magic, and in the gardens of her headquarters. Why did these ones bring her heart aching into her throat? Charlotte blinked, her eyes burning a little, and breathed in, squaring her shoulders. 

She had been indulging carnal desire. That was all. Doubtless Yami was the same. He'd climbed into her bed, with his strong arms and his hands that turned her to quivering putty- but at the end of the day, he'd just used her for his own gratification, as she'd used him. Being emotional about it was foolishness. Like the roses.

Grimacing, Charlotte opened her window, and tipped the flowers into the bushes below.

"Sis?" Sol called from outside. "Are you up yet? I wanna go to breakfast."

"I'm your captain," Charlotte reminded her, almost reflexively, glancing into her dresser mirror. Her hair was still disheveled from the night, her gown in tatters. She swallowed. "Give me a moment."

\---

Walking down to breakfast with the eyes of her squad on her, Charlotte felt like a liar. The women around her admired her for her propriety, her purity. She was their role model. They didn't know how shamefully she'd lost herself a few hours before, how she'd had to scrub the stink of it from between her legs.

The girls she passed in the halls, who whispered her name behind their hands, didn't know what she had done. They still looked up to Charlotte Roselei, who no man could touch.

The thought made her queasy, and she sipped her tea in silence, leaving her crumpets untouched on her plate.

"Are you okay, sis?" Sol, half a crumpet in her mouth, pressed a buttery hand to Charlotte's forehead. "If you're coming down with something, I know a remedy from my hometown."

Charlotte froze. What if Sol could feel what she had done, somehow? No. She was being irrational. Sol was no mind-mage. Coolly, she pulled her subordinate's hand away. "It's nothing," she said, taking another sip of tea. "What's on the agenda for this morning?"

"Oh!" Sol crammed a second crumpet into her mouth with her fingers, this one loaded with red jam. "Mm-" she consulted her diary, still chewing happily. Despite Charlotte's best efforts, the girl had never developed manners. "We're doing performance reviews for the senior knights, and you need to pick a delegation for the Royal Ball."

\---

"The Royal Ball, huh?" Yami squinted at the cursive writing on the invitation as he sat on the toilet, cigarette in his mouth.

Technically, every magic knight captain got an invite to the Royal Ball each year, but Yami had never bothered turning up, on the grounds that it was a pointless waste of time. 

But Charlotte would be there, and he needed to talk to her.

He'd chucked the invites in the pile by the crapper- the paper quality was strong, soft, and just flimsy enough- but thankfully he hadn't used them.

Now that he actually wanted to go, he'd have to pick five of his knights to go with him.

Finral was a shoe-in. His spatial magic removed the hassle of the long broom journey to the capital, and he was a noble to boot, so no-one would bat an eye that he was there.

Luck was out- knowing him, he'd probably try and start a fight with the king or one of the other captains. Vanessa would drink herself into a stupor, so at very least he'd need someone to babysit her if she came. Henry couldn't leave the base. Charmy would try to eat everything in sight- did he care about that? There was lots of food at these things, right? Yami shook his head. If his squad caused a disturbance, he'd be called in to deal with them. He might lose his chance to talk with Charlotte. He'd need to pick carefully.

\---

"Finral. Vanessa. Gauche. Gordon. Grey." Yami announced at the dinner table as he threw the envelopes at them. "We're going to the Royal Ball."

"Ooh!" Vanessa's face lit up. "A party!"

Finral looked similarly impressed. "With girls!"

"And food!" Charmy looked devastated.

_"I'm so happy to be included. I'm going to remember this forever."_ Gordon muttered into his chest.

Gauche raised his hand. "I refuse. I'm seeing Mari that day."

"If Gauche doesn't want to go, can I go instead?" Charmy piped up.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Yeah, fine. Gauche, give Charmy your invite."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Being in charge was such a chore sometimes. "Finral, you're our ride home, so no sneaking off. Grey, you're in charge of making sure Vanessa doesn't get naked and start dancing on the tables when we're there. Vanessa, we're going to need formal outfits." Yami narrowed his eyes at Charmy and Gordon. "You two can… mingle or whatever."

"What about me?" Luck was smiling, but his eyes were flat. "There's gonna be loads of strong people there." He stood up, lightning crackling up his sleeves. "I could fight Charmy for Gauche's invite."

"My banquet!" Charmy squeaked, hugging the envelope to her chest.

Yami waved his arm at them. "I need you to protect the base. It might get attacked or something."

"Ohh, okay." Luck sat back down, picking up his dinner again. "Cool."

\---

"Formal clothes," Vanessa shoved an armful of black fabric at Yami. "As ordered."

"Are these… ruffs?" Yami pulled suspiciously at the sleeves. The material felt slippery and expensive, like something Vangeance would wear.

"It's fashionable," said Vanessa, climbing onto the couch at the back of Yami's room, and taking a swig from the bottle in her hand. As usual, she wore little more than underwear. "Put it on, captain. I want to see how it looks."

"Tch." Yami turned away from her as he peeled off his shirt and cape, dumping the clothes on the end of his bed. "This better fit," he said, as he shrugged on the shirt Vanessa had given him and started to fasten the buttons.

"What I want to know," said Vanessa, as she reclined on the couch behind him. "Is why you're suddenly interested in the ball now. You get an invite every year."

Yami inspected himself in the mirror, adjusting the white ruff that sat under his chin. The puffed sleeves made his already broad shoulders look ape-like. He flexed experimentally. "This looks like crap, and it's scratchy."

Vanessa pulled a face. "Fine," she said, her grimoire glowing before her. "Don't answer my question." She took a mouthful from her bottle as she reached out with her other hand, extending the thin pink strings of her magic to him. They wrapped themselves round Yami's chest, digging in more than they really needed to, and pulling him up off the ground.

Vanessa closed her eyes, breathing in.

Yami looked down at the floor, holding himself still in her magic's grip. "Should you really be doing this drunk?"

"Shut up, I'm concentrating," said Vanessa, and her fingers twitched. Yami's shirt unwound itself, and rewove into a different one. This one was closer to what the silver eagle captain wore- a high neck with a diamond cutout over the chest.

Yami snorted. "I look like a male prostitute."

"Oh, for fuck's sake-" Vanessa ficked her wrist and transformed his shirt again, this time to one that exposed his midriff.

"What the hell, Vanessa." Yami glowered over his shoulder at the thread witch.

Vanessa upended her bottle, licking the last few drops from the finish. "Maybe if I knew why you wanted to go to this thing, I'd have a better idea of how you wanted to dress."

"It's none of your business." Yami growled. "Just make me some formal wear, you damn drunk."

"Is it personal, captain?" Vanessa looked at him with puppydog eyes as she changed his shirt again, this time to a ruffled shirt with long, drooping sleeves. "You should tellll meee."

Yami glowered at his own reflection. He looked like an evil pirate. If his squad learned he was interested in someone, they would try to help, and, knowing his gang of hooligans, that would be a disaster. "That's ugly."

"How about this then?" asked Vanessa, with a wave of her hand, and his shirt became a white tanktop.

"That's just my normal outfit," complained Yami. "Are you even trying?"

"Well, I'm out of ideas." Vanessa shook her head, slumping back on the couch, and her threads lowered him gently to the ground. "What about something from your home country? What do people usually wear to formal events there?"


	6. Chapter 6

_ "The Black Bulls are here!" _

_ "The Black Bulls are here?" _

_ "It gets better- get a load of their shady captain." _

_ "I heard he's a foreigner." _

_ "He's huge!" _

_ "Is that a housecoat he's wearing?" _

_ "I don't know, looks like a dress to me." _

_ "I wouldn't say that to his face if I were you." _

Charlotte froze as the group of gossiping nobles walked by. Yami? At the Royal Ball? Impossible. The black bulls never attended this sort of thing.

"Charlotte?" Mereoleona Vermilion, sister of the crimson lions captain, fresh from her latest expedition to the wilds, waved her wine glass at Charlotte. "Don't you agree with the point I was making?"

"I, uh-" Charlotte swallowed, trying frantically to remember what Mereoleona had been saying before the group of nobles had passed. "I agree in principle, but the details need to be ironed out." She fanned herself with her hand. "It's a little stuffy in here. If you'll excuse me-" she said, turning to leave the group.

"An excellent idea!" Mereoleona boomed, following her to the balcony. 

Charlotte felt a jolt in her stomach as she joined the nobles crowded at the railings and saw Yami down below. He wore a loose jacket over a sort of black robe, with a heavy pleated skirt, belted at the waist with a thick sash of fabric. His sword and grimoire hung at his hips, and, for some reason, a small bull skull hung at his solar plexus, attached to the flaps of his jacket with a white string. A flush of heat rose to Charlotte's cheeks as she watched him, and the corset of her gown felt suddenly too restrictive. It had only been a week since he had crept into her bedroom, but she wanted him again already.

"Hah! Look at that getup!" Mereoleona showed her sharp canines as she grinned. "It suits him, though."

Charlotte felt the heat reach her ears, and she forced her face into a stern expression. "It's uncivilised," she said.

"Eh, suit yourself." Mereoleona shrugged. "I've gotta find out where my brother's run off to. Catch you later, Charlotte," she said, gripping Charlotte's shoulder as she left.

Charlotte let herself stare at Yami a few seconds more before she turned away, alone.

\---

If she could just get through the ball without talking to Yami, Charlotte told herself, it would be okay. Her reputation would be preserved. The thing was, Yami seemed determined to socialise. When she came to the ballroom, he was there. When she moved to the balcony, he was there. Even walking to the women's bathrooms, she spotted him on the concourse below.

She finally found herself walking down one of the richly appointed corridors just past the kitchens. The servants were clearly busy elsewhere, because it was deserted. Charlotte leaned on a wall, catching her breath.

"Oi, Prickly Queen." Yami's low voice came from behind her. Charlotte froze. Yami had been on the concourse, she was sure of it. "You look pretty."

"What are you doing here?" Charlotte turned, stabbing a finger at Yami's chest.

"It's a party. I was invited." Yami's cigarette dangled precariously from his lips, his expression innocent. As innocent as Yami's face ever was. "You could be nicer to me, y'know."

Charlotte's fists curled into balls at her sides. "No-one can know-"

"Yeah, I heard you the first time." Yami exhaled softly. "I know there's some things you're not up for, and I'm not gonna ask for those from you. But I do want to see you again."

Stupid. Stupid Charlotte. He only wanted her body- he'd admitted as much, but she still wanted him. She took a step towards him, desire and shame warring inside her, and plucked the cigarette from his mouth. Yami's eyes were brown, his expression almost tender as he looked down at her, and her chest ached. "No-one can know," she repeated, helpless.

"No-one's here right now," said Yami, as he leaned in and kissed her. His lips were warm, and he tasted like liquor. Charlotte closed her eyes, lost in the moment of it, her arms twined round his neck as his hands found the small of her back. "Charlotte," he murmured, as he broke the kiss, and she hated how her heart thrilled when he said it. "So how about it? Making this a regular thing?"

Charlotte stiffened. "It's inadvisable."

Yami's smile was incorrigible. "That's not a no," he said, kissing her neck. He kissed her lips once more, softly, before squatting down on the ground before her.

"Wait-" Charlotte felt her face grow hot. Surely he didn't intend to- "What are you doing?"

"Something inadvisable," said Yami, lifting the front of her skirts. His hands found her hips easily, the layers of fabric not seeming to deter them, and Charlotte gasped as Yami ducked his head under her skirts too, his stubble prickling as he kissed her thighs. "You should open your legs," he said.

Charlotte flushed, remembering the feel of Yami's mouth as she glanced from side to side, his breath hot on her thigh like a promise. The corridor was wide, and ornately furnished, but as Yami had said, it was empty. She swallowed. "You'd better make this quick," she warned, widening her stance.

Yami shifted underneath her, his hands on her ass, and Charlotte stifled a gasp as his warm mouth found her pussy. She couldn't make noise. That would attract attention. She turned a would-be moan into a grunt, gritting her teeth as Yami lapped at her clit. It was a single-minded attack, just holding her in place and eating her out as her orgasm built. Charlotte made a guttural noise in her throat and grabbed Yami's head through the fabric of her skirt, pushing him against her. She felt him moan into her pussy, a sensation that was pleasurable all by itself, and grip her ass tighter. Charlotte closed her eyes as the sensations rolled together, pressing Yami into herself, herself onto his hot, dextrous tongue, all the while keeping her focus on keeping quiet, biting back her moans. She came quickly, and almost silently. Charlotte released her grip on Yami's head, and felt him gasp for breath against her hip.

"Captain Roselei!" There were footsteps approaching, and fast.

"Shit!" said Yami, muffled by her skirts.

Grimacing, Charlotte straightened herself out, pulling the skirts of her ballgown over Yami to hide him. She would look flushed, but that couldn't be helped.

"What is it?" she called.

"Captain Roselei!" An out-of-breath butler charged round the corner and into view. "Please, come quickly! Jack the Ripper is fighting Yami Sukehiro in the ballroom!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yami is magnificent and I don't write him half as well as he deserves to be written.


	7. Outlaw Queen

Charlotte steeled herself, fighting down her rising feeling of panic as she hurried awkwardly after the servants to the ballroom, Yami hidden crouched under the voluminous skirts of her gown.

"What is going on?" she hissed, once the servants were out of earshot.

"Hell if I know," said Yami. "Didn't know Jack was gonna be here."

"Captain Jack the Ripper comes every year," said Charlotte. "If you ever bothered turning up, you would know that." She stiffened as a thought crossed her mind. "If you are the real Yami, that is."

"I'd hope you could tell," grumbled Yami.

Charlotte had imagined that the large man's presence in her skirt was obvious, her red-faced disarray humiliating. Thankfully, everyone was fixated on the two magic knight captains on the ballroom floor, and the servants cleared a space for her as she headed for the railing.

"You want a piece of me, huh?" Yami, a perfect copy of the Yami currently hunched against her leg, circled the green mantis captain.

"Keh. I've been wanting to settle this score for a long time." Jack licked the edge of his blade magic with his freakish prehensile tongue. 

The Yami on the ballroom floor glowered, his eyes glowing red. "I'd like to see you try it, string bean."

"If you're the real Yami," hissed Charlotte, voice low enough to be inaudible to anyone but the man at her feet. "Then who's that down there?"

"That? Oh, that's just Grey, shapeshifted into me."

Charlotte gave a grunt of consternation. "Why is one of your knights shapeshifted into you?"

Yami shrugged. "I needed someone to keep the hooligans in line for me while I was busy."

"Is he going to be okay?" Charlotte rifled her memories, but she couldn't recall a shapeshifter from the black bulls ever getting promoted to senior magic knight. Thinking on it, she couldn't recall many of Yami's knights getting promoted at all.

"Dunno," said Yami. "Grey probably can't take Jack in a fair fight, but they better not lose."

Charlotte watched as Jack lunged forward and Grey-Yami dodged nimbly back.

"What's the matter, old man?" Jack taunted. "Losing your edge?" 

"Fat chance, beanstalk," growled Grey-Yami. "I just don't want to accidentally cut you in half."

Jack leapt forward, knives first, and Grey-Yami swung to one side, giving a barely audible squeak, which he corrected to a grunt as Jack's knives scythed the air where he had been.

"Oh, man," Yami chuckled to himself. "Grey is so fucking terrified right now."

"Ooh, big talk, grandpa," Jack was saying as he circled Grey-Yami again, tongue lolling. "I guess I'd better bust out the big guns if I want you to take this seriously. There's an attack I've been working on."

"Oh y-yeah?" retorted Grey-Yami, but he was sweating.

"That's not funny!" Charlotte watched as Jack sprung into the air, twisting as he descended on Grey-Yami once more, yelling an incantation. "Your man could die."

"If you're so worried, you stop the fight." Yami wound an arm around her thigh and squeezed. "You could put down String Bean, easy."

"Is that the kind of captain you are?" hissed Charlotte, hating how good his touch felt. "Hiding under a woman's skirts while his subordinate takes a beating for him?"

"Tch. Fine." Yami's mana flared, and a black dome flickered into existence around his doppelganger on the floor below. 

Grey-Yami flinched as Jack's knives descended, sheathed in magic, but they skittered off the barrier and Jack slid backwards on the floor.

Charlotte's eyes widened as she realised what Yami had just pulled off. A spell manifestation using just the ambient mana around the target, with no line of sight. It was incredible. Though she could never tell Yami that.

"Keh. I guess you've got some fight in you after all, old man." Jack swung his knives at his sides, and glanced up at Charlotte, frowning briefly before his customary smile returned. "How about we take this to the next level?"

"What?" Grey-Yami grunted, looking slightly pale. "No!"

"Keh-keh. Yes." Jack gave a manic grin the scar on his face twisting, and then a pirouette. "A dance-off."

"Oh. That. Sure." Some of the panic faded from Grey-Yami's face, and he resumed a macho pose. "I'll outdance you anytime, slenderman."

The real Yami shook his head. "Too much bluster, dammit Grey," he muttered, though in honesty, Charlotte couldn't see much of a difference between his usual behaviour and that of the double. Yami squeezed her leg again. "Looks like we're not needed here, Thorn Queen. You wanna ditch this joint and go somewhere with me?"

Charlotte pursed her lips as she watched the scene below. The staff had brought out musicians to facilitate the duel, and the party atmosphere had returned, attendees no longer fearing for their lives. Yami's overture was crude, if not unwelcome, but her knights would notice if she left the party altogether. "Outside?" she offered.

\---

The sounds of the party from the palace faded as Yami and Charlotte walked further into the gardens, the music and chattering of the nobles all sort of blending together into a distant, golden thrum.

The gardens of the palace were practically deserted, and the cool night breeze made a refreshing change from the hot, close air under Charlotte's gown. Not that he'd hadn't loved being there. Even if Yami hadn't been an ass man, which he was, the feel of Charlotte's frilled garter straps against her soft, white thighs would've stirred something in him. He kept step with Charlotte, rubbing the cramp from his neck and shoulders as they went. They passed side-by-side under a bower of wisteria, and over a tiny bridge that covered an artificial brook. It looked expensive.

"So this is what the taxes get spent on, huh." Yami stopped, fishing a cigarette and lighter from his grimoire case. It looked pretty smashable, too.

Charlotte tilted her head, eyes widening slightly. "You've never been down this way?"

"I'm not a noble," Yami pointed out, leaning on the guard rail as he lit up. "Don't think the king'd like it if someone like me crashed his joint."

"But you are a magic knight captain," said Charlotte. "I don't think he could do anything if you did."

"I might end up in jail." Yami flicked ash over the side of the bridge, and it floated on the black water. He'd seen people arrested for stupider things, after all.

"I'd break you out," said Charlotte, her eyes flashing and her chin proud.

"You idiot." Yami found himself smiling at her. At the ridiculousness of the thought- Charlotte with her briar sword, busting through the wall of a jail. The light of freedom gleaming off her armoured tits. "Then we'd both be outlaws."

"I'd-" Charlotte hesitated. "That wouldn't be so bad." She reached for him. Not to grab his chest and pull him to her, but for his hand.

Yami took her hand, and twined his fingers with hers. His cigarette burned down as he stared at her hand clasped in his, a strange feeling knotting in his chest. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

"Charlotte. Yami!" Julius. Annoyance surged in Yami as he sensed his friend's ki, and Julius, dressed in full regalia, emerged smiling from the darkness of the path a second later. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, nothing." Charlotte ripped her hand from Yami's, flushing crimson. "We were just, uh-" she swallowed.

Yami closed his eyes and breathed out. Damn it, Julius. "We were discussing squad rotas." he said, covering for Charlotte's flailing. "What do you want, Julius?"


	8. Chapter 8

Damn it Julius. Yami pulled a face at his friend. If it had been anyone else he would have punched them through a wall. Couldn't he have just rewound time and butted out?

"I'm sorry," said Julius, "But this is important. Can we walk and talk?"

The magic knight headquarters was only a short walk from the royal palace, and they made it there in double-time under the aegis of Julius's time magic.

"I had Marx scan the mind of the child you rescued- the construction magic user," said Julius. "It's as we suspected- he's one of the missing children, from a village near the border. His name is Arden."

"The forsaken zone?" Charlotte's expression was doubtful. "His mana capacity was huge. On par with a royal, even."

"Not everyone with a large amount of magical power is a noble," said Julius. "But I agree, there's something else at work here. That's why I want your help."

They proceeded down the stairs to the dungeon, where the most dangerous criminals were kept. The enemies of the state. The air was stale, and too warm for the stone building, the crackle of mana in the air. The boy they had rescued, the one with wild black hair, hung in midair, suspended in a sphere of frozen time.

"You're keeping him in here?" Yami pulled a face. "He was just a kid. Just give him a cup of milk and send him home already."

Charlotte said nothing, but her expression told Yami that she was pissed too.

"I want to," said Julius, looking sadly up at the bubble.

"Then do it," said Yami, his annoyance creeping into his tone.

Without comment, Julius waved his hand, and the time magic around the kid's upper body wavered and dissipated.

Arden's eyes snapped open, and he regarded the three of them coldly, the light of the torches glittering on the gem in his forehead. "You," he said, his young voice flat.

"Yeah, us," growled Yami, a feeling of unease growing in the pit of his stomach. Arden didn't feel like part of a building anymore, but he didn't feel like a kid, either. "The ones that rescued you."

Arden laughed, a hollow laugh. "You did nothing," he said. "You saved nothing. You stopped nothing. You will still die, and your countrymen with you." Arden moved to spit at them, and Yami reached for his sword to deflect the attack, but Julius was quicker and his time magic flickered back into place, leaving Arden's face and the glob of spit contorted underneath.

"There." Julius bowed his head. "I think you can see the problem better now."

"Tch." Yami scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe you were right. You can't send the kid home like that."

"What's wrong with him?" Charlotte asked.

"We don't know," Julius admitted. "If it was simply brainwashing, Marx could help, but Owens thinks it's something to do with his magic item."

Charlotte walked up to the boy, staring up at his forehead. "Can you remove it?"

"We could, but there's a risk we could hurt him in the process." Julius bowed his head. "We don't know enough about it. I had Marx read his memories, but they were pretty scrambled." Julius put a hand over his heart, speaking carefully. "What he does remember is a pair of mages coming to his village, traveling performers."

"The kidnappers." Yami growled.

Julius nodded. "They had a game, one of the ones that channels the user's mana to hit a target. The more mana, the better the prize."

"They were scouting for children with high latent talent," Charlotte guessed.

Julius nodded. "But that's not all. I sent people to investigate his home village. He was the only one taken to have received his grimoire, but no-one there remembers him having the level of power that you saw. The magic item seems to be the reason his magic attribute is so high."

"But why a kid? Why not just use that on their adult mages?" Yami asked. The eight shining generals were pretty strong even without an enhancement.

"I don't know," said Julius. He frowned, showing deep lines under his eyes, and he spread a map of the Clover kingdom on the table. "That's why I need you to find out." He turned to his map. "My sources say that the children were taken from here, here, and here." He traced his finger over the village markers. "If they're still scouting for kids with high magic abilities, this town is the next one they'll target."

"And so you've ordered some magic knights deployed there," said Yami. "Right?"

"Nope." Julius shook his head, smiling. "If the magic knights are there in force, it will put them on guard. I want answers. And that means I need the kidnappers taken in. Alive."

Yami sighed. Julius had a habit of withholding important information, but if he'd called two captains in, he probably had a good reason for it. "Alright," he said. "I trust you. What's the plan?"


	9. Interlewd

Being Yami was hard. Not just on a magical level- Grey barely had the mana to imitate Yami's speed, let alone his physical strength and endurance, but on an emotional level as well. Being someone else always gave her a confidence boost, but impersonating Yami required more than that.

She'd shouted at Vanessa to get down off the table! Vanessa, who was a much more powerful mage than she would ever be. She had stopped Charmy from climbing into a pyramid of vol au vents. She'd smoked a cigarette. And then, she'd told Finral she would kill him. It was terrifying.

What was most terrifying, though, was Jack. She'd known roughly what to expect from the Green Mantis captain from his interactions with Yami at the star festival. Their rivalry was boisterous, and the ball didn't change that.

What she hadn't expected was the easy way the tall man had looped his arm over her shoulders once they'd finished dancing.

"You wanna get a drink with me, old man?"

Grey did her best impression of Yami's smirk, and scoped out the room. Gordon had latched on to a young man in an Aqua Deer cape and was showing him one of his dolls. Charmy was still eating. Vanessa was letting two nobles fish something out of her cleavage, and Finral was nowhere to be seen. "Sure," she grunted, and Jack steered her down a corridor and up a flight of stairs, where a sign hung on the door; "Reserved for the use of the Green Mantis Magic Knight squad captain". If Yami had gotten such an accommodation, he hadn't told any of the bulls about it.

No sooner had they stepped through the door when Jack's long arm tightened around her neck, his cutting magic manifesting in a knife that pressed cold against her throat.

"Who the fuck are you," he hissed in her ear. "And what have you done with my friend?"

Grey squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to hyperventilate. "Let go of me."

"Now I know for sure you're not that washed up old geezer," growled Jack, his grip tightening enough that his knife beaded with blood. "Cuz he would break out of this, easy."

"Okay!" Grey squeaked, inasmuch as Yami's voice could squeak. "I'm Grey! I'm on his squad! He asked me to impersonate him! Please don't kill me!" She looked down at Jack's knife, pressed against her throat. "It's lovely to meet you, Mr the Ripper, sir!" added Grey, for good measure.

"That bastard!" Jack gave a grunt of frustration, but his grip on Grey's neck loosened, and he licked his blade clean. "He thought he could fool me, huh."

"Um," Grey swallowed. "How did you know?"

"For one thing, Yami doesn't squeal like a little bitch when I do this-" said Jack, and he ran his long tongue over Grey's cheek.

Grey obliged with a yelp.

"Keh," laughed Jack, resting his chin on her collarbone, his knife arm relaxed. "See, he would say something like  _ what are you, a moron _ ? or  _ I'll kill you _ ."

"S-sorry." said Grey, sweating.

"He wouldn't say that, either," said Jack. "But I guess you know that." He released his grip, expression quizzical. "You still want that drink?"

Grey swallowed, hand going to her abused throat. "Sure."

Jack nodded, walking over to a cabinet and pulling out a bottle, along with a pair of cups. He held them carelessly in his long fingers as he turned back to Grey. "So what's Yami up to, that's so important that he's making you stand in for him?"

"I don't know," Grey admitted. She hadn't taken stock of the room before, on account of fearing for her life, but the suite was huge. There were a pair of long couches, either side of a coffee table, and a small bar against one wall, with a few barstools. Behind a double-width doorway was what looked like a bedroom, with a four-poster bed and a writing desk. "He said it was important. Personal stuff. Vanessa's going up the wall- thinks he's got a secret girlfriend."

"Has he?" Jack tilted his head.

Grey took a seat at the bar. "If he has, that's his business."

"Keh. Good answer." Jack grinned, sliding into the stool beside her and setting down the cups in front of them. "You almost sound like the old man."

"I'm twenty-six," Grey grunted, narrowing her eyes in her best captain Yami impression.

Jack laughed. "Are you really?"

Grey to one side, tucking a piece of her thick black hair behind one ear. "Twenty-two," she admitted.

Jack leaned over, and Grey's heart just about stopped in her chest, but the green mantis captain was just reaching over with the bottle of liquor. Was she attracted to him? Grey glanced down at Jack's exposed midriff as he filled her cup. His whole form was sleek and muscular, even under the crop-top formal wear.

"Dating as a captain must be pretty hard, huh," said Grey, carefully. "I never thought about it much before."

"Keh. I guess." Jack downed a cup and refilled it. "I don't think Braids and Lion King have the same problem, but people are pretty scared of me."

"You're scary," said Grey, earnestly, sipping her own drink.

"You're scared of me, shapeshifting dude?" Jack tilted his head, his scar distorting as he narrowed his eyes.

"Terrified."

Jack leaned forward, until he was practically nose-to-nose with Grey. This close, she could see the scars on his lips. "You're still here."

Grey played it cool, but she felt herself grinning. A glimpse in the mirror showed her Yami's grin, but stupider. "You might gut me if I leave."

"Keh. True." Jack leaned back, elbow on the bar. "You might escape. You were pretty fast back there on the dance floor."

Was he flirting? Grey stiffened. He and Yami were friends, right? Did that make it weird? "Uh-" she ran her fingers through her hair. "I guess. I mean, I've been training a lot since I joined the cap's squad." Grey trailed off.  _ Since I don't really have a combat magic _ , was the bit that went unspoken. Yami had never really seemed to care about that. Would Jack? Who knew. Why did she care if he cared?

Jack reached over and poured another slug of liquor into her glass. "That disguise is too good," he said, with a small shake of his head. "I keep thinking the ancient mariner is here, and he's gonna threaten to punch me in the mouth for calling him that."

Grey gave a grin, sipping the drink Jack had poured her. "I can punch you in the mouth if that's what you're into."

"Keh," Jack reclined, swirling his drink in his hand. "Just you try it, shapeshifter."

Two drinks in, and Grey was pretty sure accepting Jack's offer had been a bad idea. She felt her face, no- Yami's face- redden with inebriation as she slid off her seat. Jack got to his feet too, one hand on the bar as she edged around him. Grey tensed, trying a couple feints before she lunged towards him, fist clenched. 

Jack laughed, catching her fist in his palm with an easy grace. "Try again," he said. 

Grey twisted, bringing her other fist to bear, but Jack caught that too, stopping her punch dead with his free hand. 

"That's not fair!" pouted Grey, both hands restrained. She shoved forward, and to her surprise Jack rolled with it, letting himself be pushed down, his hands pinned to the floor.

He grinned up at her. "What now?" he asked. He was definitely flirting. Probably. Grey felt her cock rise to half mast regardless. Guy anatomy was straightforward like that.

Grey leaned down, her face close to Jack's, her weight on his hands, and took a deep breath, forcing herself to ask the question that was playing on her mind. "Would this be weird?" she asked. "With me as Yami?"

Jack's eyes were half-lidded, his long hair pooling on the floor behind his head. "You're not him," he murmured, and Grey felt the captain's pulse quicken through her grip on his hands.

Grey lurched down, closing her eyes as she snatched a kiss from Jack's lips. He gave a soft, guttural grunt as her lips brushed his, arching his back so that his stomach pressed against her, and then his hips. His cock was straining against his pants, and Grey felt hers stiffen too, throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She planted her knees between Jack's as she kissed him a second time, nudging his legs apart. Jack complied, but pushed for a deeper kiss, his long tongue meeting hers and winding around it. Grey pushed her hips against his, and Jack locked his long legs around her, grinding as they kissed. Fuck. His tongue felt incredible.

Grey released Jack's hands and grabbed his hips, pressing him against her. Jack ran his hands over her broad, muscular back, his fingers rucking the fabric of her haori as he clutched her.

They kissed a third time, a breathless kiss, which mixed teeth and tongues and hot breath that tasted of liquor. 

Grey gave a grunt of pleasure as Jack tugged her bottom lip with his teeth. "You wanna fuck?"

"I thought that's what we were doing." Jack pushed his hips against her meaningfully, and his cock pressed against her stomach.

"No," Grey stopped mid sentence to kiss the slender captain's neck, rubbing her stubbled chin against his collar. "I meant _do you want my dick in you_?"

"Keh," Jack laughed. "That's pretty forward of you, shapeshifter."

Grey grinned. Yami had once called her the biggest perv in the black bulls, and he wasn't wrong. As long as she was wearing someone else's form, she could do anything. She kissed Jack again, relishing the feel of his strong, slim body against her. "I've got mana left for another shift tonight," she offered, one eyebrow raised, Yami style. "If you'd rather fuck someone else." She hooked her thumbs under the waistband of his pants and gave a suggestive tug.

"You can only do someone you know, right?" said Jack. "Stay Yami, he's hot. But don't tell him I said that." Jack gave her an almost demure look as he divested himself of pants. Grey looked at him greedily as his erection sprang free. Jack's thighs and hips were like the rest of him- narrow, and all sinew and muscle, no fat to him at all. Grey took Jack's cock in one hand and stroked it, coaxing a noise of appreciation from his lips. Her own cock pressed insistently against the captain's thigh through the fabric of her outfit as she reached around him and gripped his ass, solid muscle under her fingers. Jack, eyes half lidded, manifested a blade on his arm, and drew the cold tip of it over her chest. Grey felt cool air on her shoulders as her clothes fell away, and shivered. The blade could have easily cut deeper.

"That's one hell of a party trick." Grey bit back a grunt as her cock pushed against Jack's thigh again, skin to skin this time. His legs were hard muscle under soft skin, rippling against her as he moved. 

"Speak for yourself, shapeshifter," smirked Jack, as he dissolved his blade in a plume of mana. He bent to lick her chest, tongue tracing the same path the blade had been, and Grey shivered at the feel of it. 

She picked him up and carried him to the bed. She wasn't as strong as Yami, not by a long shot, but in his form she was strong enough to carry Jack. Jack didn't seem to mind being carried, but busied himself with finding the sensitive places on her neck with his hands and his tongue. Her erection was a needy ache as she pushed him down, bending her head to kiss his scarred lips. His mouth softened for her, his gold eyes closed. Was he fantasizing, Grey wondered as his tongue swirled round hers. Or just deep in the moment?

"You got lube in here?" she asked, softly.

"Mm-" Jack reclined, looking up at her. "There's some oil in the cabinet." 

Jack's eyes seemed to burn a hole into her soul as she fumbled with the door of the cupboard, her body crying out to touch him again, to feel the hot thrill of skin on skin. She found the bottle. Unstoppered it. Spilled some. One hand oiled, Grey put the container aside and crawled back to Jack, who waited for her. He kissed her impatiently, drawing her into an embrace, his cock hard and hot against her stomach.

Grey pushed him down by the shoulders and knelt between his legs again. A couple of pillows were enough to prop up his hips and slide an oiled hand under him.

He knew what he was doing, and moved to guide her as she found his hole, tracing round the sensitive flesh with her fingers. Jack took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, his entrance relaxing a little as she pushed an oiled fingertip against it.

"You ready?" asked Grey, her nose against his ear.

"Ngh," Jack nodded, his cock still hard against her stomach. "Do it."

Slowly, carefully, Grey slipped a finger inside him, watching him as she did. Jack's eyes were half-lidded, his breathing controlled, and he was painfully erect, liquid beading at his tip. Curling her finger made him gasp and arch his back.

She bent to him, sucking him into her mouth. He tasted like salt and man.

"Give me your cock before I fucking gut you," Jack groaned as he clutched the sheets, pushing himself against the back of her mouth. Grey ignored him, sliding her finger in and out of him as she sucked him. Her own cock pulsed between her legs, insistent, but there would be time enough for that.

"Guh-" Jack gave a noise somewhere between a groan and a whimper, and his cock swelled a little in Grey's mouth. "I'll fucking gut you, and strew your guts-"

Grey raised her head from his slick cock. "No way. You're too tight."

"Try me," Jack growled.

Locking eyes with Jack, Grey shoved another finger in. He swore at the ceiling, back arched, precum beading on the tip of his cock as she fingered him. He was looser than he had been, probably a tight fit for her current anatomy, but close enough.

"Keh-" Jack gasped, long tongue lolling from his mouth as she moved him. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, shapeshifter."

"Course I am," grunted Grey, smearing a handful of oil over her cock. "Here, I'll show you." She grabbed Jack by the hips, his knees at her shoulders, and pushed herself into him. 

His ass felt sublime. Hot, slick, and snug, pressing in on her. Grey didn't force it, instead sliding in as far as he would let her before drawing back.

"You'd better not -ngh- be going easy on me," Jack muttered between strokes. 

"You idiot," Grey gripped his hips hard, pushing herself into him again, and savouring the feel of it. He was opening for her, albeit slowly, allowing nearly her full length in. "You want to get hurt? That's how you get hurt."

"You can't-" Jack closed his eyes, a whimper in his throat as Grey pushed into him. She took his dick in hand as she fucked him, stroking it, and he quit talking. Instead he made sweet half-words, which might have been profanities or threats or encouragement, but which were cut off with each stroke for a wordless sound of pleasure. 

He was close, his breathing shallow and his cock twitching in her hand. Grey sped up, gripping him as she slammed into him, her own pleasure building. He spilled over his own stomach and chest with a whimper, and Grey kept fucking him as he softened. The sensation rose to a crescendo, until there was nothing in the world but Jack, his soft hips in her hands and her cock in his hot, tight ass. She leaned forward and kissed him, kissed his hair as she came, spilling into him. And then there was nothing. Clarity. Two guys on a bed.

Grey slumped, face pressed into Jack's shoulder. "Fuck."

"Keh," Jack rubbed his forehead with his hand, gold eyes closed. "We should clean up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be a return to scheduled programming, with Yami and Charlotte on a mission (again).


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since y'all asked so nicely.
> 
> I'm sorry for the delay on this- canon YamiChar is just too perfect and makes me feel bad about writing my version.

Julius's plan, as it turned out, was the two of them driving into the town with a cart full of jellied eels. Yami's regular clothing, sans cape and sword, passed as peasant garb, and Charlotte had borrowed a set of clothes from Sol. The Clover countryside rolled past in the dark, fields and farmsteads lining the sides of the road.

How did Sol manage, wearing this little the whole time? Charlotte's stomach and legs felt cold, and worse than that, Yami would look at them. Nothing he hadn't seen already, but somehow the thought of it, out on the road where anyone could see, was enough to fluster her, and she sat beside him, blushing furiously as he drove.

Yami was his usual nonchalant self, cigarette in mouth. If he'd noticed her exposed skin, he didn't mention it. 

"Yami?"

"Yeah?" he grunted.

"Say something, you-" Charlotte looked away from him. "I-I mean, wouldn't it look strange if we were just driving along, not talking to each other?"

"Uh." Yami took a drag on his cigarette. "No? Look, if this is about the sex thing-"

"It's not about the sex thing!" Charlotte waved her arms. "And I thought you said you would be discreet!"

"I am being discreet," said Yami, frustratingly.

Charlotte raised her chin. "You just asked me if this was about the sex thing!"

"There's no-one else within half a mile," stated Yami, staring out at the fields. "And also we're in disguise."

"Th-that's still not discreet!" Charlotte felt her cheeks warm.

Yami smiled to himself. "Suit yourself, your thorniness."

* * *

Charlotte didn't look at Yami all the way into town, where torchlight and mana started to light the road. They pulled over at an inn on the outskirts of town, Yami handing their cart over to a young stablehand, who parked it in a walled courtyard out back and unhitched their animals. The place was rustic, not somewhere Charlotte Roselei would ever be seen staying. The innkeeper was an old woman, shrivelled with age like a human raisin, who peered up at them with rheumy eyes. Charlotte could barely sense any mana from her at all, but the woman held herself like someone who brooked no nonsense.

"A room, for you and your wife?" the innkeeper asked Yami.

"Coworker," Charlotte snapped, and immediately regretted it as Yami raised an eyebrow. Served him right for not correcting the woman's misconception. As if someone like her could ever be with someone like him. "We're coworkers, that's all."

The innkeeper smiled beatifically. "Will it be two rooms, then?"

"Tch." Yami pushed a handful of coins over the counter. "Fat chance. Just the one."

"Very modern of you, dear." The old lady counted the money carefully, picking out a tarnished coin and giving it an experimental bite before pulling a key from under the desk. "Here's your key. If you need anything else just ring the bell in the room."

"Thanks," Yami grunted, taking the fob and turning to leave. Charlotte hurried after him.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte demanded once they were halfway up the stairs. "I thought you agreed that no-one could know-"

Yami stopped her mid sentence, his hand covering her mouth. "As far as that lady knows, we're just two travelling eel merchants." He released her, jabbing a thumb at his own chest. "And this eel merchant is going to share a room with his eel merchant girlfriend or coworker or whatever, and Charlotte Roselei's reputation is going to have nothing to do with it."

"This is an indignity-" said Charlotte, following him into the room.

"If sharing with me is such an indignity, go back to the front desk and buy another room," said Yami.

Charlotte stopped, staring at him. Yami was right. She hadn't gone back to the lady at the desk. She had her own coinpurse. Why was she insisting on sharing a room with this foreign brute of a man?

Because she wanted him, a small, secret part of her whispered. Because he was a good man, just and courageous for all his flaws. Because she was a slut who wanted him to spread her legs open again and have his way with her. She tore her gaze from him, a flush in her cheeks. "It'd be suspicious if I went back now," she muttered, the door swinging shut behind her.

Yami shrugged, pulled off his boots and sat on the bed, peeling off his vest over his head.

"You're not even going to offer me the bed?" asked Charlotte, arching an eyebrow.

"There's room for two of us." Yami replied, opening one eye. "If you don't like it, there's always the floor."

* * *

Yami was a great dark naked lump in the bed beside Charlotte, his arms by his sides. His chest rose and fell with his breathing. He smelled good- faintly of cigarettes and clean sweat. He'd already been asleep by the time she'd brushed her hair and changed, which she supposed was right- they were meant to be on a mission after all. Yami was a brute, but he was also a captain, a man who knew the meaning of duty. But being this near to him and not touching him was unbearable.

Charlotte's hand went to her hips, between her legs, finding the places his tongue had stroked. She drew a finger over them, remembering the feel of him, the warmth of his breath and the hot prickle of his stubble.

"Hey, prickly queen," called Yami, his voice soft with sleep.

Charlotte froze, caught mid-act. "What?"

"I told you before, didn't I?" Yami's voice was sleepy, but he turned his head towards her. "Don't be afraid to ask for help."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Charlotte sharply, heat rising to her cheeks.

"I'm mistaken, huh," said Yami. "Because from here it sounded like you were sneaking a quiet one out."

Charlotte opened her mouth to reply, but only a squeak came out, her hand still guiltily over her sex.

Yami smirked, rolling back onto his back. "Look, I don't judge. You've got needs, I get it. I just thought I'd offer to help you out."

"A-and how would you help, exactly?"

"Like this." Yami grabbed her hips and lifted her up easily, pulling her over him. He set her down astride his legs, his hands still at her hips, thumbs tracing her hip bones through the fabric of her nightgown.

Charlotte looked down. His cock was hard, and the sight of it stirred something in her. She swallowed.

"What am I supposed to do with that thing?" she asked. She could feel her heartbeat between her legs as she looked at him, her pussy a needy, sodden traitor.

"You could ride it." Yami gave a half smirk.

"And you'll do what? Lay there on your back?"

His eyes were half-lidded as he spoke. "I can't help it if the mattress loves my ass, can I?"

"I thought you said you were going to help."

"I'm giving you my body, aren't I?" Yami gave her a coy look. "My virtue."

"This is a shameful disregard for chivalry," said Charlotte.

Yami seemed unfazed. "I'm saving my strength for tomorrow."

Rucking her nightgown up around her hips, Charlotte lowered herself down onto him, feeling a perverse twinge of satisfaction as he drew his breath and closed his eyes. Her knees sank into the mattress, level with Yami's waist, and she leaned forward, one hand on his chest to steady herself.

"Let me help." Yami's grip was firm, his hands warm as he pulled her down onto him and up again in a slow, steady rhythm. "You shouldn't have to do all the work by yourself."

Charlotte closed her eyes, letting Yami control the motion of her hips, relaxing into him. They were friends, right? How many times had he had her back, or rescued her from a tight spot? Was sex so different to that? She leaned into him, her hands finding the broad planes of his chest, his powerful shoulders, and his mouth found hers. Yami snatched a kiss from her lips before he moved to her jaw, her ear, her neck, fucking her all the while.

"I thought-" she paused to whimper as he pushed himself inside her. "That you were saving your strength."

"A man can't change his mind?" asked Yami. "And besides, we can't have you all pent up on the battlefield, can we?"

Charlotte's reply was a kiss, deeper than before, her tongue winding against his, hot and wet as she allowed herself to sink deeper into the moment. She was already ruined, after all. What was a little more?

She loved the way he fucked her when their lips were locked together, the breathless speed of it, his grip hard on her hips until she broke their kiss to cry out. She loved the sweat droplets that pooled between his muscles, his expression when he closed his eyes, buried to the hilt in her and rocking her back and forth. She loved the feeling that he drew from her, a pleasure in her core that grew, relentless and hot, threatening to overwhelm her senses. Every time she felt as if she would tip over the edge, Yami drew back, slowed his pace and kept her in the agony of the penultimate moment, rutting her hips against him, her fingers at her sex, and she whimpered like an animal.

She let herself moan his name as she came, burying her face against his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her, his cock still hard inside her as she twitched.

"Charlotte," he murmured, as she fell to stillness, the tension flowing from her body. His arms were almost protective.

He'd let her finish, but if his hardness was anything to go by, he still had his own end to chase. Charlotte swallowed, raising her mouth to his ear. "Finish inside me," she said, softly. "Please," she added.

"As her thorniness commands," growled Yami, but his tone was gentle, almost a purr. He moved inside her again, each stroke like white fire on her nervous system as he held her to him, his grip like iron, warm muscle bunched under skin. Charlotte found herself moaning again, each helpless noise from her bringing an answering growl from Yami's throat as his cock thickened inside her. He grabbed her hips as he came, holding her in place as he shot his load, pulsing warmth inside her, and released her just as suddenly, his eyes closed as he panted.

They lay like that in the aftermath for a long time, stuck to each other by sweat and other fluids, both stupefied from the experience.

"Yami?" Charlotte raised her face from Yami's chest, brushing stray hair from her eyes.

He grunted in response, a hand stroking her side in a way that made her want to ask him to take her all over again.**  
**

"What do you think of me?" she asked.

"What's this about, prickly queen?" Yami's voice was sleepy.

"Just tell me?" Charlotte closed her eyes. "Please?"

"I think you're a pain in the ass sometimes," he grumbled. "But you're strong, and brave, and kind. And beautiful, I guess."

"Do you think I'm ruining myself?"

"Charlotte-" Yami's hand stroked over her hair before cupping her chin, and she could see his eyes glow faintly in the darkness as they met hers. "I think you shouldn't give a shit what anyone thinks."


End file.
